In just four days in 2002, Nancy went from living a comfortable life in suburban Campbell, Calif. with her husband and teenage daughter to being a widow faced with homelessness.

Nancy was bereft. Their savings didn’t last long and she couldn’t afford to stay in their rented home. Her daughter moved to Ohio to stay with a relative and Nancy found herself in a San Jose homeless shelter.

Once, Trinese was married, with two daughters and a job as an Alameda County child care services coordinator. Her future looked bright, but a series of setbacks derailed her life. Her marriage ended. Her apartment building was converted to condominiums with prices she couldn’t afford, forcing her to move. And she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Zuleika knows firsthand that housing security changes lives for the better. Her parents left their war-torn Central American country in 1986 for California, and later raised three children in Centertown, an EAH Housing community in San Rafael, California